Some may not care - but

Post by Doris McCraw

aka Angela Raines

Image (C) Doris McCraw

November has Veteran's Day and Thanksgiving. In honor of those two Holidays, I dedicate this post to all the veterans and am thankful for all they have done.

This whole year has been dedicated to finding and sharing the stories of the soldiers who served in the Civil War. This next to last post is about George Washington Castile (Casteel, Casteele). 

Castile was born November 15, 1845, in Buchanan County, Missouri. If you look at a map, Buchanon County is close to Clay County, the home of Frank and Jesse James. George, however, served with the Union Forces in Kansas with the 14th Kansas Calvary. He mustered out with the rank of Corporal.

That unit was formed on April 1, 1863, and continued until June 25, 1865. Records show the 14th was involved in Battles in Lawrence, Kansas but the brunt of their service was in Arkansas working primarily out of Fort Smith, Arkansas.

After the war, George returned to Buchanan County. He later married Mary Jane Marion in Douglas, Kansas in 1870. Mary died sometime around 1874 leaving behind George and 3-4 children. George then moved to Douglas County, Colorado. In August of 1879, he married Euphrama Gillman, who was thirteen years his junior. He brought his three sons into the marriage. George and Euphrama had four children. 

By 1900 the couple were living in Colorado Springs where George was a Veterinary Surgeon. 

George died in 1918 at the age of 72. Although his wife is buried in another section of Evergreen Cemetery, George is buried in the GAR (Grand Army of the Republic) section. 

Headstone image taken from
Find A Grave

For those who want to dig deeper into Buchanan County, Missouri, here is a link to the history published in 1881: Missouri Digital Collection - Buchanan County

Until Next Time: Stay safe, Stay happy, and Stay healthy. 

Doris

Sgt. J. W. Peterson - 2nd Colorado Cavalry

Post (C) Doris McCraw

aka Angela Raines

GAR Section of Evergreen Cemetery, 
Colorado Springs, CO. 
Image (C) Doris McCraw

John W. Peterson enlisted in Denver, Colorado, Colorado Territory, as a private on September 1, 1863. He mustered out of Company E of the 3rd Infantry to transfer to Company M of the Colorado Cavalry as a Seargent on October 1, 1863, when that unit was organized. 

Various companies of the 2nd Cavalry served in Missouri, the District of the Frontier, and New Mexico. They were the first to leave the territory to serve on the Union side of the conflict. The history is varied and a bit hard to follow. For those who would like to know more you can find the information U. S., Amerian Civil War Regiments, 1861-1865.

His personal life is a bit of a mystery, for there was also another John Peterson in Colorado Springs at the same time. Trying to decipher who is who has been more time-consuming than expected. So far, any records that match show he never married. Hopefully, time will bring more of Sgt. Peterson's life to the forefront. So far the John Peterson, born around 1835 in Illinois shows the most promise.

We do know he died on April 9, 1904, and is buried in the GAR section of Evergreen Cemetery, Colorado Springs.

For more on the Civil War Veterans and Veteran's Wives in this series:

Martha Douglass - Prairie Rose Publications

William T. Douglass - Western Fictioneers

Private John H. Long - Western Fictioneers

Isabella Long - Prairie Rose Publications 

Until Next Time: Stay safe, Stay happy, and Stay healthy. 

Doris

FINDING STORY INSPIRATION FROM THE NEWS

Post by Doris McCraw

aka Angela Raines

Photo (c) Doris McCraw

Have you ever seen a piece of news that just begged for further research? Sometimes you find enough for a nonfiction piece. Other times it ends up being a nugget for a story.

The below clipping is from San Franciso, CA. newspaper in 1879  that inspired a nonfiction piece on the death of Lafayette Shidleler and his murderer Joe Ward. 

That same Joe Ward was the model for one of my characters in the novel, "The Outlaw's Letter".

There are some other tidbits that may warrant further investigation. We will see. In the meantime, the Smoky Hill River Trail has caught my eye.

How do you find your story inspiration? I'd really like to know.

Until Next Time: Stay safe, Stay happy, and Stay healthy.

Doris

 

Some Questions for the Future

Post by Doris McCraw aka Angela Raines

Photo (c) Doris McCraw

We are getting closer to the middle of 2023. It is usually a time of reflection for me. I take stock of where I am in my writing, publishing, and marketing. 

In line with that concept, I would appreciate feedback on what you would like to read in my blog posts. As a student of Colorado and Women's History and pretty much an expert on Early Women Doctors in Colorado, which of these three topics would be the most useful to you?

Would you like more marketing information?

Photo (c ) Doris McCraw

Is there interest in joining together to create a series of short 'novels' that tie together on a theme, time frame, or event?

Where would you like to see Western Fictioneers go in the future? 

What can I do as I finish my time as President to help make sure this blog and the organization continue to be a vibrant community? Please know, it does take a village to make things happen. 

Your feedback will help me to craft the remainder of 2023. 

We are getting ready to announce the Peacemaker winners and I want to say, it was a banner year and judging was some of the hardest I've faced. I want to thank everyone who submitted their work. It tells me the genre of the Western is alive and well. We just need to make sure the rest of the world knows what we know, these stories are the stories of not only the past but are a glimpse into the lives we live now.

Thank you each and every one for a great first half of 2023.

Until Next Time: Stay safe, Stay happy, and Stay healthy.

Doris

 

Dr. Kate Yont - A Life of Service

Post by Doris McCraw aka Angela Raines

Headframe - Cripple Creek/Victor Mining area
Photo (c) Doris McCrw

In 2014 a friend from the museum in Victor, Colorado, gave me the name Kate Yont. The museum had been given some of her items but they had no record of her in the area.  To me, that was like being given the keys to the kingdom. Off I went on the journey to find this woman and what connection she had to Victor. The following is what I found on the journey of exploration.

In 1873  Katherine Eliza Geiger was born in Jackson, Michigan to John and Mary (Ver Planck) Geiger.  She attended the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and graduated in 1896. She moved to Denver, Colorado in 1897. That same year she received her Colorado license #2514 to practice medicine. She was twenty-five at the time.  1897 also saw her marriage to Jesse Grant Yont, an 1895 graduate of the University of Michigan.

Jesse Yont, according to some records graduated with a law degree, but he also played football while in college and with two ‘professional’ teams in Denver: Bently football 1894

Around 1900 he was living in Victor. His family probably came with him. While there is no record of Kate practicing medicine in the area, there is a high probability she did in some capacity.

Jesse in a football uniform

The next time we hear of Kate is when Jesse fell about 60 feet in the Strong mine in the Cripple Creek/Victor area on June 6, 1903. The newspapers state he was scalped from the fall but did not crack his skull. There was some question about whether he would survive. He did recover but according to family stories, he was not mentally the same after. This was also the first record I found of Kate in the area.

The family returned to Denver and Kate resumed her practice. The couple separated/divorced around 1920. There were two children from the union and they both remained with Kate, however, family stories do say the son would. periodically visit his father.

While in Denver Kate was the assistant gynecologist at St. Anthony’s Hospital. She also was involved with the Flower Mission, a nucleus of the Visiting Nurses Association, worked as the resident physician at the Florence Crittenton Home, and was well-known to the Italian community for helping in their naturalization process.

She died December 7, 1943, in Denver. Colorado.

As I said, an unexpected journey and a story of an almost forgotten woman.

Until Next Time: stay safe, stay happy, and stay healthy.

Doris

It all Began with a Headstone: Who was Jane Kirkham?

Post by Doris McCraw aka Angela Raines 

Photo property of the author

Jane Kirkham - It all began with a headstone. 

Image from the Loveland Reporter-Herald

Along Highway 24 near the junction of Highway 82 on the east side of the Arkansas River, you will find a lone headstone. This area is near the old stage road between Buena Vista and Leadville. Should you get out of your car and walk to this small white grave marker you would read the following:

My wife — Jane Kirkham, Died March 7, 1879, Aged 38 years, 3 months, 7 days.

But who was Jane Kirkham? No one seems to know for sure. Therein is where myths, legends, and stories begin. This post hopes to look at some of the more prevalent stories and a couple of possibilities.

Searches so far the exact date the stories began has not been found. What has been found are various stories about who she was and why the headstone is located where it is.

In John Halfor's book "Strange but True, Colorado: Weird Tales of the Wild West" he tells the tales of a gold shipment being held up in a spot where there were other hold-ups. The guards shot the robber and when they pulled the mask off the robber they saw it was a woman. She also was the wife of one of the guards who was so ashamed he buried where she fell. 

Most of the stories follow this story with the 'husband' being the sheriff, or some other authority figure who kills his 'wife'. 

It's the book "Forgotten Tales of Colorado" by Stephanie Waters that has the sheriff pursuing the bandit and bullets ricocheting off rocks like lightning that really makes it 'come alive'. She ends her story with the line, "...but at least he had the decency to erect the lonesome tombstone..."

Lest you think the story ends there, Jane Kirkham's name shows up in a court case in the town of Rosita in Custer County as having property in that town. 

There are also those who have tried to find out more about the person whose name appears on that stone. There are no newspaper reports about the stories mentioned earlier in the post, nor does her name appear in any census records in that area. 

There is also a story that she was a woman who was riding the stage and died in childbirth and they buried her there.

One person suggests, after doing ancestor research, her name was Eliza Jane Harris, born in 1840 in Iowa. Here is the link to that story: https://www.tamatoledonews.com/opinion/editorials/2022/10/21/a-history-mystery/

A YouTube video from 2018: https://youtu.be/FQmzW7E2OnY

and the article the above photo came from: https://www.reporterherald.com/2018/02/16/jane-kirkham-grave-remains-a-mystery/

I leave it to you and your research or imagination to answer the question - Who is Jane Kirkham?

Until next time: stay safe, stay happy, and stay healthy.

Doris

HAPPY NEW YEAR - 2023

Wishing everyone the best that 2023 has to offer.

 

Doris McCraw

aka Angela Raines